2011 Bring Your Boots ads unveiled

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From symphonies to historic home tours, Cinco de Mayo celebrations and more, new advertisements spread one message to perspective visitors.

"There's plenty to do in Victoria in any kind of boot," said Bridgette Bise, executive director of the Victoria Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Bise unveiled the 2011 Bring Your Boots advertisements to about 60 people Tuesday at the Victoria Economic Development Corp.'s Victoria Partnership meeting.

Last year's advertisements highlighted what visitors could do upon arriving with their boots, while the new ads showcase residents at work wearing their boots in places such as museums, shops and boats. Each month's advertisement includes a calendar of visitor-targeted events taking place in town.

The convention and visitors bureau unveiled its Bring Your Boots campaign in April.

Such advertising, which encourages people to venture to the Crossroads, is another segment of economic development, said Dale Fowler, president of the Victoria Economic Development Corp.

Texas Zoo Executive Director Andrea Blomberg said January brought more than 1,200 more visitors to the zoo than usual. January tends to be the slowest month.

"That's a big jump for a little zoo," she said.

Although she couldn't definitively say it was because of the campaign, Blomberg said she suspected it helped. A new program, for instance, offers $1 admission for people who wear boots the first Friday of the month.

Mayor Will Armstrong also noted that both the city's sales tax and hotel/motel tax allocations saw recent increases. Like Blomberg, he said he couldn't pinpoint that the increases came from the campaign.

The convention and visitors bureau has other initiatives under way, too, Bise said. The staff is ramping up its social media presence, hiring two new employees and working to make its website more user-friendly.

Plans are also in the works for an upcoming Boot Fest in October.

Bise said she is excited about the second round of advertisements, calling boots an "iconic image we can sell."

"This solidifies what we've been saying," she said. "It's Bring Your Boots. Any kind of boots."